how do u do well in biochemistry and immunology

[Reborn24]

any advice is appreciated. in terms of study strategies, good review books, anything..

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[smartreader]

any advice is appreciated. in terms of study strategies, good review books, anything..

Hey their Weirdoc. I asked the same question a few months ago before I started med school. I had no biochem background (aside from what I studied for the MCATs). After 2 months of med school, the strategy that works for me when tackling biochem is to take little bites of it everyday. In other words, If I schedule a 4 or 5 hours to go over biochem in one night, I won't get much done. But if I spread the work over the week, it'll be much more manageable and it tends to stick better. As for good biochem book, i would get lippincott's biochemistry (I'm sure you've heard of it by now).

Cheers,
Smartreader

 

[2112_rush]

Well, the best I can say is find out what works for you. For me, biochem and immunology came easiest from good review books...also, a text called "Immunology for Medical Students" is very well written and was a big help.

Bottom line though is that both classes will involve memorizing a lot of details.

 

[2112_rush]

Also, if you haven't read the other current thread about doing well in biochem...many of those posters recommend Lippincott's Biochem. I used it as well and definitely back up this recommendation.

Good luck.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Also, if you haven't read the other current thread about doing well in biochem...many of those posters recommend Lippincott's Biochem. I used it as well and definitely back up this recommendation.

Good luck.

I second that - Lippincott's Biochemistry is excellent. It also has review questions at the end of each chapter. I found those helpful before exams. Sadly, biochemistry is one of those courses where you absolutely have to memorize more than most people would like.

Edit: Also....once you've reviewed the basic biochemical pathways you may find them impossible to memorize 'individually'. It's critical to integrate; this will reinforce your understanding. Draw the pentose phosphate shunt, TCA cycle, glycolysis, purine/pyrimidine synthesis/salvage pathways, fatty acid biosynthesis, beta oxidation, cholesterol biosynthesis etc on one massive sheet of paper, highlight the key integration points for each pathway and highlight all of the main enzymes deficiencies that lead to inborn errors of metabolism etc. That helped me enormously.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

any advice is appreciated. in terms of study strategies, good review books, anything..

Lippincotts for Biochem is a great book for class. You may even use parts of it when studying for boards, otherwise it's overkill.

You can use a book by Parham called "The immune system." Good book. If you're gung-ho about the boards, use a book by Lange called "Microbiology and Immunology." The immuno section in that book rocks...plus it's a great immuno review book for the boards.

Remember, primary goal years 1-2 is to at least pass your classes and hopefully do as well as possible. Otherwise, set the stage for the boards by buying the right review books EARLY ON. G'luck!

 

[Rendar5]

for immuno:

1. Learn the basics before learning any diseases or more clinical stuff. In immuno more than other parts of medicine, everything comes from the basics.
2. Case studies books. Rosen is the one I used. It's just good to go over the clinical stuff to reinforce the basics w/ these books.

 

[nala]

I approached immuno by drawing out a lot of diagrams to try and piece everything together. I would draw a macrophage and then all of the cytokines it if influenced by, what it secretes, and the cells those cytokines influence. Same thing for learning the interactions between B cells, Th1, Th2, etc. It worked well for me, but I learn via pictures.
I also used Parham's book "The Immune System." found it quite helpful. It also has brief end of chapter questions to make sure you understand the important info from each chapter.

 

[Hurricane]

You can use a book by Parham called "The immune system." Good book.

Just wanted to add my vote for this book. I'm not really into immunology, but this book made it very straightforward without dumbing things down, and I was able to do very well with it. And it's not a big giant book either, so it's very possible to read the whole thing. And this may sound silly, but the way I was able to make sure I knew things was to sit in my room by myself and narrate the different cell interactions aloud. If I could do that, then I was sure I knew it cold.

 

[epalantequevoy]

There's a book by Sompayrac called "how the Immune system works" that provides a quick and easy overview of the immune system.

 

[zeloc]

There's a book by Sompayrac called "how the Immune system works" that provides a quick and easy overview of the immune system.

I second "How the Immune System Works." It is absolutely excellent. I tried using the Lange Microbiology and Immunology first, but it was far too detailed and I was not understanding anything trying to use it as a primary text. If you have not had any Immuno before, the Sompayrac book is good at explaining how everything connects together. I discovered it after our midterm, took notes on it, studied my notes, and then studied our syllabus and practice tests, and I missed half as many questions on our Immuno final which had more total questions than our midterm.

 

[JDWflash44]

I'm taking both in grad school right now and I have to say biochem is a lot of memorizing and i agree with the above posts about immuno,learn the basics first and go from there. And we use immunobiology by Janeway, which is a great text.

Jim